


not one step

by nymja



Category: Bleach
Genre: AU, Edo Period, F/M, Hime!Rukia, Ronin!Renji, Samurai, Tumblr fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23113384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nymja/pseuds/nymja
Summary: Rukia swallows before she steps to the side, standing next to the samurai who tried to rescue a princess from her own wedding.
Relationships: Abarai Renji/Kuchiki Rukia
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	not one step

**Author's Note:**

  * For [salzrand](https://archiveofourown.org/users/salzrand/gifts).



> old/short drabble that i realized never made it to Ao3. for salzrand who requested an edo period au!

“What do you think you’re doing?!” She screamed, holding on to the sleeves of his kimono to keep from falling. It reeked of travel, stained with what she hoped was dirt. This close, she could catch his scent: sweat, sun, and dirt. In ordinary circumstances, it would have made her nose wrinkle.

An arrow whistled by, embedding itself in the tree trunk in front of them.

These were not ordinary circumstances.

In lieu of an answer, he only gripped her tighter as he carried her, bridal style, through the thick copse of trees. The ornaments in her hair jostled with the movement, leaving behind a priceless trail their pursuers would no doubt be able to follow. 

She looked up, seeing his grim face as he kept running. _Idiot_!

“Put me down!” She ordered, the voice loud and abrasive and not at all belonging to the demure and obedient Kuchiki-hime.

Another arrow. This one grazes his arm. Aside from tucking her in closer to his chest, he gives no other reaction.

Now more afraid than annoyed, Rukia pushed herself far enough away from his chest to look behind them. Several of her brother’s samurai chased, katana and yumi drawn. 

“Stop!” She commanded, eyes wide as she realized the implication. They would kill him, or if they were feeling kind, allow him to commit seppuku for this. A samurai who went against his daimyo was…

 _He_ was now…

“This will make you a ronin!” She cried out, a small fist beating against his chest.

One of her lacquered sandals fell to the ground, the ends of her wedding obi trailed through the dirt. Her voice wavered as she decided to call him by his name, one she hasn’t addressed him with in the last five years of his service to the Kuchiki. They had grown up together in her brother’s estate–her its treasured princess, and him the son of one of her father’s samurai. But once his father died, and Renji took his position, the distance between them grew. And kept growing. Until Rukia wasn’t even sure if…

“ _Renji_ , think of all you’ve worked for-”

His grip tightened, beginning to hurt her arms. But he kept running, the hilt of his katana digging into the small of her back. The katana her brother had given him. 

His face is grim but determined as he says his first words since he broke her out of the palanquin, meant to take her to her wedding to a member of the Ichimaru clan. 

“I’ve only been working for one thing, Kuchiki-hime.” Her title is said more quietly than the rest. “And that’s for you to get that miserable expression off your face.”

Rukia blinked. The hand hitting his chest stilled. “Renji…”

He smiled down at her, and she understood. Her eyes water. “Why are you such a moron?”

He scoffed before he stopped running. In a fluid movement, he dropped her from his arms to the ground, then stood directly in front of her. She realizes what he intends to do when he withdraws his katana.

“They won’t take you anywhere you don’t want to go, Rukia.” The way he says her name makes something ache inside of her. He braces his katana in front of him resolutely. “I won’t let them.”

“Renji-”

“Run if you can.” He digs his sandals into the ground. “I won’t leave this spot.” He looked over his shoulder, smiled at her again. “I won’t take one step away.”

The figures of her brother’s men grow larger in the distance. And Rukia swallows before she steps to the side, standing next to the samurai who tried to rescue a princess from her own wedding. 


End file.
